Thousands flock to annual event

By Dan Barker Fort Morgan Times News Editor

Posted:
09/24/2012 11:11:03 PM MDT

Updated:
09/24/2012 11:23:54 PM MDT

(Courtesy photo)

People came by the thousands, crowding into the newly finished Clayton Street for the Brush Oktoberfest celebration Saturday.Mayor Dan Scalise said it was nice to have the street’s upgrades done in time after months of work."We’re very fortunate," he said, noting that it is a joyous event that brings people together for fun and entertainment. Weather was also very nice, said Ron Prascher, executive director of the Brush Area Chamber of Commerce. "Overall it was quite satisfying," he said, which was gratifying since it took a lot of people three or four months to make it happen. Brush’s Oktoberfest held at the same time as Greeley generally has about twice as many booths as Greeley, Prascher noted, probably because its booth charges are about a third of what Greeley charges, but making about the same amount of money.

Car show enthusiasts eye Stan Anderson s 1952 Ford F-100 which was named as a winner in the truck class.
(Iva Kay Horner/News-Tribune)

Prascher said the event had about the same number of people as last year, when it was estimated at 6,000. The day more or less began with the Tail Waggin’ Dog Show, where people brought their pooches for costume and trick contests, (The Times will have another story telling all about the dog show in Tuesday’s edition) although there were pre-Oktoberfest proper activities on Friday evening, such as those cruising with their classic and antique cars that would be in the car show the next day, as well as people cruising on their motorcycles. That car show began about 10 a.m. Saturday with the music and car trivia of Lost in the 50s, and many awards were handed out. Stan Anderson won Best of Show chosen by spectators with his 1952 Ford 100.

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(The cities of the winners were not available.) Dan Geist won Fire Chief’s Choice with his 1934 Hudson Roadster. Deb Geist won Mayor’s Choice with her 1936 Chervrolet. Gary and Carol Boyer won the Police Chief’s Choice with their 1955 Ford Victoria. Clarence Roach won first place in the muscle car class with his 1969 Mercury Cougar. Keith Damrow was second in that class with his 1967 Ford Fairlane and Mark Fitzjohn was third with his 1967 Mercury Cyclone.

Several students from the University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences were on hand at Oktoberfest, where they offered services of flu and pneumonia vaccines, blood pressure readings and bone density screenings. According to organizer Wendy Lantaff, who also is stationed at B&B Pharmacy, Brush for a six week rotation, Events like these are so valuable because we (students) learn so much from talking to actual patients and educating them about different risk factors they may have and how to improve their health. In all, students provided 34 flu vaccines, three pneumonia vaccines, took approximately 50 blood pressures and performed 21 bone density screenings.
(Iva Kay Horner/News-Tribune)

Unplaced winners in the original intent class were Rhonda Hammann with her 1955 Pontiac Star Chief, Stan Grippin with his 1957 Chevrolet Corvette, Steve and Becky Enfante with their 1969 Chevrolet Camaro and Richard Degenhart with his 1956 Mercury Monterey. Listed as winners in the truck class were Gary Foos with his 1955 Camaro, Bill Hober with his 1957 Dodge 100 and Stan Anderson with his 1952 Ford F-100. Winning in the street rod class were John Hurd with his 1932 Ford two-door, Dave Geist with his 1934 Roadster and Ron and Linda Hanstrom with their 1932 Chevrolet B. In the street machine class were Steve Canales and Frank Dvorak with a 1956 Wagon 210 and a 1956 Oldsmobile two-door respectively.

Owen Norton, the seven-year-old son of Heath and Susie Norton of Fort Morgan, was one of many attracted to the petting zoo held at the 30th annual Oktoberfest event this past weekend. Here, Owen feeds a friend while goats and a miniature horse scramble for leftovers in the background. (Iva Kay Horner/News-Tribune)

Winning in the late model class were John Barr with his 1998 Pontiac TransAm, Mark Steele with his 1988 Corvette and Rex Christensen with his 2011 Corvette. Richard Nicklas of Akron won the drawing for a large tool box. Dogs had to give way on the community stage — that sat near the middle of the Oktoberfest — to the Fort Morgan Dancersizers, who in turn gave the stage to the Wes Cable Family singers, a local group. Outgoing Brush Rodeo Queen Rachael McCracken, 17, Weldona, crowned this year’s new Rodeo Queen Elysa Mora, 15, of Brush. Mora crowned Ayla Newman, 18, Brush, the new Lady-in-waiting for this year’s rodeo. Queen Program Coordinator Vanessa Meyer of Fort Morgan said McCracken did a fine job on community activities and visited several rodeos as part of her official duties this past year. McCracken received a past-Queen sash to keep as a memory of the year. Each of the rodeo celebrities presented their families with flowers. Families work hard when their girls are in the program, Meyer said. Candy’s School of Dance followed the queens, with multiple dances, including a rendition of "Hey. Little Red Riding Hood," with a boy dressed up as a wolf. The girls in the dance had Germanic costumes, which fit right into the theme of the day. Later in the day, Sally Goerner performed, as did Fort Morgan’s School for the Performing Arts, Vicki’s School of Dance, the Morgan Community College Festival Band, a polka band, singer and guitar player Hank Louis. In the evening, a polka dance was held in the Carroll Building. While all this entertainment was going on, children were able to enjoy doing sidewalk art with chalk. (Some of the children who did the art only gave their first names.) Seyda won first place among two-year-old children for her art. Scarlette took first place among kids three and four years old, with Bryson in second place.Dakoda White took first among five and six year old kids, with Mechele Cook in second place. Kashlynn Tadolini took first place in the seven— and eight-year-old competition, with sister Karly Tadolini in second place. Another of her sisters, Dalayna Tadolini, took first place in the nine and 10 year old category, with April in second place. First place art winners received $5 worth of Brush Chamber Bucks and second place winners received $3 of bucks, plus each child received a $1 bill. Many other booths and activities kept people busy through the day. The 98 booths at Oktoberfest sold clothes, art, jewelry, knickknacks, toys, miniature cars, cutlery, cowboy gear and much more. Food booths offered pies, cinnamon rolls, funnel cakes, turkey legs, ice cream, wild boar bratwurst and more. As usual, the bungee jump ride was popular among the daring, and kids enjoyed a petting zoo that included a camel and llama, as well as a pony ride. Contact Dan Barker at business@fmtimes.com